Arkos, snowed in
by Yojimbra
Summary: They always did have the worst luck when it came to traveling. It seemed only natural that they'd end up trapped in a cabin while a blizzard raged around them. But how long until their feelings finally come to a boil and they make the leap from work partners to life partners. Jaune x Pyrrha Aroks, fluff, One-shot


Snow and wind burst from the door, scouring the inside with a white flurry. The inside of the shelter wasn't much, barely warmer than the frozen hell they had been trapped in for the past hour, and was a far cry darker. But it wasn't wet and windy.

"Pyrrha," He shouted, though she was barely a foot away from him, her red ponytail was speckled with white as it whipped about in the wind. Her arms were crossed in a failed attempt to stay warm. "Hurry inside, it looks safe!"

She didn't bother to reply, darting in under his arms and scrambling inside the house.

Jaune followed her, pulling the door shut as he did. Or at least tried to, the wind had a hold of the door, and the snow was building up at the base. He kicked at the snow trying to push it back. It was a losing battle. "Pyrrha!"

She was at his side in a heartbeat pulling the door with him. It slammed shut, the lock clicked shut, and the wooden brace set. It should have been time to rest, but it was still cold. So very cold. His fingers were numb, and Pyrrha wasn't much better. He could hear the chattering of her teeth through three layers.

Pyrrha stood, shaking the snow off of her, bumping into something in the dark as she walked. She swore, if only briefly before she continued on. "Jaune," She whispered, "Over here."

With a groan, Jaune pulled himself away from the door, not trusting it to stay shut for a second. The cabin was dark, but the glow from Pyrrha's flashlight was all he needed to find her. Even if he bumped into the same piece of furniture she did. He crashed down beside her, pulling his mouth free from the sweat covered cloth that had been sheltering it from the cold. "What's up?"

"Fire," She shivered, her whole body shuttering with the effort of speech. Her flashlight dashed towards a fireplace, then to a pile of wood, dry wood. "Do you know how to start one?"

"Yea," He rummaged through his bag, sloshing the snow to the ground for his fire starting kit, who would have known all those years as a boy scout would come in handy? "Give me a minute."

Light-anywhere-matches were a wonderful thing and the man who invented them had saved countless lives. Jaune's and Pyrrha's would soon be on that list. In no time at all the fire was a spark of life that began to grow as they fed it fuel. Soon it was a roaring flame casting an orange glow into the small cabin, basking them in its warmth.

Pyrrha kneeled beside him, her gloves were off and her blue tipped fingers were pointed towards the fire. "I don't ever want to be that cold again."

"Yea, I think next time we don't listen to Weiss." It sounded fine on paper, heading up into the cold northern mountains for… what were they here for again? At least they were properly supplied, mostly. Some kind of long range comms device would be wonderful right about now.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha apologized, her breath coming out in puff of steam through her blue lips. Any longer out there and they'd both be frozen. She pulled her hair free, shaking it free of the stubborn bits of snow that were clinging to it. The color in her face was returning. "I just thought that the snow would be fun, we only got it once a year when I was younger."

"Not like I spoke up against it, I thought it'd be a lot better than a mission to the desert again." Jaune, fell backwards, hands brushing against the thick, dust covered rug that sat in front of the fireplace. The desert was a miserable miserable place and anybody that lived there was insane or a criminal. Probably both. "Next assignment we're going to a tropical island!"

"Knowing our luck, we'll end up shipwrecked and one of us will get poisoned." Sad thing was she wasn't joking. They held the record for best results, despite absolutely horrible luck. They had a no flying policy for a good reason! Pyrrha pulled off her scarf throwing it to the ground near the fire with a wet slap. "You saw the weather report, it was supposed to be clear, Jaune, clear! For the next three days we had a zero percent chance of clouds, instead we got that."

The cabin was finally becoming livable, the fire was burning hot and proud. But beyond that there was something alluring about Pyrrha slowly removing each of her twenty odd layers, even using her teeth when need be.

"You should take off your wet clothes Jaune," She smiled at him. "They'll suit us better once they're dry."

He knew that! "Oh uhh, right thanks Pyrrha."

Before they knew it, a mountain of clothing sat on the various hangers that surrounded the fireplace.

"What do you think the chances are this is some kind of snow hallucination?" Jaune wondered, finally feeling the numbness of his joints vanish from the heat. It was no trip to the tropics but it was heaven all the same. He stood finally giving the cabin a good look over.

Until Pyrrha stood with him, looking quite cozy in the maroon sweater he had bought her for her birthday. She seemed to wear it every chance she got. The firelight only highlighted that subtle natural beauty she had. Just another reminder that she was about two thousand leagues out of his league.

They held their gaze for a heart beat, and Pyrrha seemed to move closer to him, her face nearly blushing. Before she drew away, "I'm going to see what supplies are here, can you check our own?"

"Oh!" Jaune snapped out of it, he was staring again. Dammit, this was why he could get a girlfriend. "Yea, sounds good."

The cabin consisted of the fireplace, a large rug that must have had three colonies of dust bunnies inside of it, a cot that was on the pitiful side, a table, two chairs, and a stool. There were numerous cupboards that Pyrrha was rummaging through, what looked like an ice box, and various pots and pans hung from the walls. It was hard to tell if this was someones private cabin or not. And given how there was a generous amount of firewood that lined the walls it seemed fit for survival.

Their own supplies consisted of several days of rations, a tent, sleeping bags, cooking pots and spare clothing. Most of their equipment was likely already at the base camp, and in theory, they should have been there by now had it not been for the freak snow storm.

"It's a Beacon cabin," He heard Pyrrha gasp from inside one of the cabins, she pulled out a first aid kit.

"Why would Beacon have a cabin up here? Isn't Atlas the closest one?" Jaune walked over to join her, his eyes drifted to where her waist met the curve of her hip. No, survival he needed to focus on survival and stop lusting after his partner. They were perfect as partners, they rarely fought, they always survived, and had fantastic results. Plus they were best friends, even hanging out where there wasn't an assignment.

He wasn't going to let his penis ruin that.

Even if it might be worth it.

Pyrrha stepped to the side, pointing towards the cupboard. "I have no idea, but it has one of those emergency station plaques on it. Plus," she held up a large glass bottle, examining the label for a moment before showing it to him. "I'm fairly certain this is Ozpin's favorite, the one he makes sure is in every station?"

"Looks like it," He had about as much experience with alcohol as he did ladies. He gestured towards the plaque. "And that's his signature, so uhh, I guess we don't have to worry about using this cabin then."

"Oh we were going to worry?" Pyrrha smiled. "I was just going to leave a note and some money."

That seemed fair.

"Anyways, want something to drink?"

"Really?" Jaune asked. "You want to drink that now?"

Pyrrha looked at the bottle in her hand as though she was shocked to see it still there. "Oh, no!" she placed the bottle down, bouncing and taking a few strides towards a container she found. It popped open and he recognized the smell…. Err smells. "I found this. I think it's coffee or something."

"Smells like chocolate?" Jaune leaned in taking a whiff on the container, no there was a hint of coffee in there. "Chocolate and coffee?"

"Sounds good to me," Pyrrha shrugged grabbing a couple of utensils from the wall, "You want a cup?"

"Wouldn't it be better to try and sleep through the storm?"

She pouted, it was a small thing of absolute despair that was his one true weakness in the world. "Yea, I guess that's true, I just wanted something warm to drink."

Dammit. "No you're right, I'm sure we'll have no problems sleeping from just a cup or two."

XXXX

This was almost as good as the time they got separated from the others during a routine hike. She sprained her ankle and Jaune insisted on carrying her half way up the mountain. She had been so close to telling him how she felt then, and that was years ago. And ever since they had become official partners, but not an official couple, those feelings for Jaune had only grown.

In times like this when they were alone, and their lives were in mortal danger it almost made her feel like they were an actual couple. Because then Jaune's attention was only on her. If only her own shyness and complete inability to express herself (Not that Jaune's density helped things), then maybe they'd be more than just work partners.

Pyrrha Ark had a nice ring to it.

The smell of hot chocolate, coffee, and the burning wood was delightful. Add to it the warmth of the fire where it fought against the cold from outside was such a pleasant sensation. Biting her lip, Pyrrha poured the first bit of the drink into a cup and offered it to Jaune. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Pyrrha." He blew on it, offering her that smile she saw a hundred times or more a day. It still made her heart flutter. He took a sip of it and she held her breath waiting for his approval. "It's really good!"

"Don't sound so surprised Jaune," she laughed pouring herself a cup. "You make it sound like I can't cook." She took a sip, there was something magical about hot chocolate made over an open fire that just made it taste so much better, the coffee just made it complete.

"Then why do you always insist on me cooking?" Jaune asked his own mug inches from his face. The entire house groaned and the fire sputtered. As a chill wind blew, somehow piercing through the insulation of the cabin. It was going to be cold tonight. Maybe Jaune will suggest that they sleep together for warmth?

No, he was too considerate for that, she'd probably end up alone in that cot over there while Jaune slept on the rug in front of the fire. Why couldn't they just cuddle on the ground together, their sleeping bags could zip together, she made sure they had that feature.

"Well, I just prefer your cooking is all, you're so good at it," she smiled at him. "You're like my swiss army knife of surprising usefulness."

"Well it's not like I do all the work," Jaune stood, taking another drink, his breath steaming as he milled about. "You're a great help and I think the food tastes better when we do it together." 

He grabbed a large scratchy wool blanket draping it over her shoulders. God damn Prince Charming. He practically treated her like she was his girlfriend! Wait… were they? No there was no way that she could have operated in a professional manner around him without knowing that he thought of her as his girlfriend.

Besides he complained about being single way to much for that.

"So," Pyrrha tucked the blanket in around her. Dammit, why didn't Jaune do the adorable thing of sharing the blanket with her, instead he sat off to her side, bundled in his own blanket. They were big enough to share the body heat! "Any luck on the girlfriend department?"

She hated to see Jaune suffer and she'd never actually try to sabotage his relationships. At least she hoped she wasn't that kind of crazy, at least she'd never have to find out. They'd both be lonely and single forever!

"I asked Velvet out."

"Oh?" Judging by her tone of voice she might actually be that crazy. This wasn't healthy. Why couldn't she just tell him how she felt? She could stare death in the face and remain cool, jump out of a vehicle, defuse a bomb, and ask Ozpin for a raise! She was brave! It was just Jaune that made her so… so… well nothing in the world was like Jaune. So she couldn't just treat him like anything else.

Still. In terms of love she was a grade A coward, hell Ruby came out and asked Weiss out at the same time. It worked out for them, Weiss was at least willing to give it a shot.

"She turned me down," His shoulders slumped, blue eyes focusing on the drink before him, his large manly hands that fit hers oh so perfectly gripping it tightly. "She said that she couldn't date me when I was already in love with someone else. Plus, she has a thing for black hair so blonde is a no go."

"She doesn't come across as the superficial type." Pyrrha hid her mouth with her mug. "Her loss anyways blondes are cute."

"What'd you say?"

Crap! He heard her? "I umm, so who do you love?"

He went pink, very very pink. "It doesn't matter, she'd never go for a guy like me."

Yep, okay, she was the crazy kind of jealous. "Jaune," She said smiling at him, "We've been best friends for how many years and you're just now telling me about her? You owe me at least three years of gossip."

Name and address would do.

"I," He swallowed unwilling to meet her eyes. "What about you? Don't you have someone? You've turned down every single offer you've had."

She gasped, and bit her lip. "They talk to you?"

"Half of them ask me for advice," Jaune nodded. Then his cheeks grew pink again. "The other half accuse us of being in a relationship."

"But it's not like that'll ever happen."

Great now she was angry, sad, nervous, cold, and jealous. That wine! It was supposed to be good. She wanted to add drunk to that list. No, getting drunk out here would be a bad idea. Stupid survival instincts. Why couldn't she just tell him? Why why why?

Deep even breaths, deep even breaths. Nothing bad would happen if she told Jaune. Nothing bad would happen if she told him. He was a kind understanding guy - that didn't have feelings for her - he'd probably let her down gently then they'd just keep being partners never remembering that this night happened. She could live with that.

"What," She swallowed, her face warm and cold all at once, eyes locked on the dancing flames. She turned to look at him, that beautiful tall, manly, girly, man that she had fallen for hard. "What makes you say that Jaune?"

"Well," Again he refused to meet her gaze. Her hands were painfully cold and Jaune's looked so arm and inviting. "I mean just look at you, at me!"

"What do you mean?" She scooted closer to him. Nothing bad was going to happen. She was twenty five years old. She had been in love with this man for the better part of a decade. They could be married right now with their first child, maybe even a second. Jaune probably wanted a big family.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Jaune Arc!" She stood, dropping the blanket and the mug to the ground, splashing lukewarm drink onto her clothing. That didn't matter. Nothing but the truth from Jaune mattered. And she needed to make him see it. "You are a kind wonderful man. You're tall, handsome, useful, smart, caring, funny. Any girl would be lucky to have you and that includes me. Especially me!"

"Pyrrha," He gasped and looked up at her. She was so close to him, when did she get so close to him? Why did she get so close to him? Why wasn't she backing down? Her face was warm. Really warm, warmer than her rear that was facing the fireside. Why wasn't he kissing her. "What do you mean?"

She couldn't! Just a few more words was all it would take and it would all be out there. But she was a coward. "Never mind, I'm going to bed."

Run. She needed to run, as far away as possible. If she was asleep then she could only talk to Jaune in her dreams. He grabbed her by the sleeve of her sweater. His blue eyes were looking only at her, the fire reflecting off of them filled her soul with a whole new warmth. She had it bad for him.

"Pyrrha." He nearly pulled her down onto him. "Did you mean that? That you'd be happy with me?"

Her legs felt weak, her breaths were short and her lip was trembling. She brought her free hand to her mouth to hide what she could. For a fraction of a heart beat she had enough courage to look Jaune in the eyes, before she looked towards the bottle of liquid courage she desperately needed. A drunken confession and a one night stand would have been better than this. At least then she'd have an excuse.

She nodded.

Only the flickering fire dared to make a sound for the longest time. Not that she could hear it beyond the pounding of her heart in her ears. By some miracle she managed to look into Jaune's eyes once more, and an eternity passed between them. They had stared at each other for longer than this, discussing various things. But this was different. So very different.

"Pyrrha," He finally choked out. "Am I the reason you're single?"

"Can you think of a better way to ask that?" She mewled, shaking her hips wanting to be gone from here. No, she wanted to be here. With Jaune, she always wanted to be with Jaune. He made her feel like more than just a prize, more than some untouchable woman. To him, she was just Pyrrha, his partner. And hopefully maybe more?

"Oh, umm." He swallowed standing to meet her. He had both of her hands in his. They were so warm, and calloused, but soft. Just like him. "Pyrrha. Is the reason why you're still single because you have feelings for me and I'm an idiot? Or am I just a hopeful idiot?"

"Jaune," She took a step closer to him. This was it. She was really going to do this. "I've been in love with you for years."

That felt way too good to say, it made her heart race, and her lips tingle, she couldn't help but smile.

"Fuck," Jaune shouted and laughed at the same time, a giant smile on his face. "Really? You're not joking right?"

"No, why would I joke about this?"

He laughed taking another step towards her. "Because I've been in love with you too."

"You jerk!" She laughed, all the stress leaving her body. Jaune loved her. Love! He had been in love with her for years! Why had they waited so long? How did she not notice? "Why did you make me confess!"

"Because I thought that there was no way that you could fall for a guy like me." He admitted, smiling like an idiot.

"How could I not?" She took another step towards him, sliding her hands around his waist and holding him there, barely a breath between them.

She felt his own hands fall to her hips, and his eyes kept flickering downwards. "So, umm does that mean I can kiss you?"

She kissed him. It was as soft as it was inexperienced, a probing promise of things yet to come. Together they would learn and become better at kissing. Together they would explore their relationship as they did the world. It ended just as quickly as it started with Jaune trailing after her, still desperate for more. "Jaune, you have years of lost time to make up for, you can do a lot more than kiss me."

"Oh!" His eyes went wide then understanding set in. "Oh…"

"You know, I was hoping we could share a bed tonight," The floodgates were open and there was nothing to ever hold her back. Jaune loved her. "To conserve body heat, and cuddle. Mostly as an excuse to cuddle. But I don't really need an excuse anymore, you're my boyfriend now right so that's a normal thing to do now. Right?"

"Wait, does that mean I'm your girlfriend?" He shook his head. "Err boyfriend?"

She couldn't take it anymore. Of course her lovable idiot of a partner would mess something like that up. And years of stress finally melting away came bubbling up as laughter. She laughed, pulling Jaune down onto the dusty blanket with her. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said it again. "But umm, it's cold, let me get more blankets before we umm, do more stuff."

XXXX

"Do you think they're in here?" Nora asked, stomping through the snow like she was stomping on bugs. "Those two have the worst luck, of course they'd get stuck inside a snow storm like that."

"Its where the signal is coming from," Ren said glancing down at his coms device. "And I'm sure they're fine, they're better at surviving trouble than they are at getting into it."

"Right then," Nora popped her knuckles, flashing him a grin. "Let's give them one hell of a wake up call."

Nora had many uses that normal humans did not. One such use was that she functioned as something of a human battering ram. Both physically and emotionally. "Nora wait, maybe we should knock."

"Nah," She whirled her arm up, a move she liked to do to show that she was charging up for something. Sometimes it was cute. "It's Jaune and Pyrrha they're both probably sleeping away from each other, we ain't walking in on shit."

Before he could protest, she slammed open the door. "Good Morning Arkos! We're here to rescue you!"

A girl screamed, and a guy screamed. Then silence. Even Nora was frozen. Curiosity got the better of him and he peeked inside.

There was a very naked Pyrrha, on top of a very naked Jaune, both of their faces were red enough to match Pyrrha's hair. Ren nodded towards them, and pulled his Noracicle out the door. "Congratulations."

 **AN: When strapped for an idea to do a longer Arkos fic I ended up caving and doing the classic "Stuck inside and there's only one bed" trope... but they didn't use the bed.  
**

Beta'd by xxTerror33xx


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